Netball: Melbourne Vixens, Adelaide Thunderbirds likely to face off in first final

Melbourne captain Bianca Chatfield has declared the Vixens ready for this year's finals series and confident they can beat any of their rivals for the trans-Tasman netball title.

After demolishing the West Coast Fever 69-39 in their final game of the regular season, the Vixens secured a spot in their fourth finals series in six years.

They will likely take on Adelaide, after the Thunderbirds overcame the Queensland Firebirds 54-52 at Netball SA Stadium later on Sunday.

And in the final game of the weekend fixtures, Central Pulse continued their late-season surge by downing the Southern Steel 73-64 in Invercargill but they look set to miss out on a finals berth.

It was the Pulse's fifth win in row and it kept them fifth on the table, which is where they look almost certain to end the regular season.

Their only hope of slipping into a top-four play-off spot is if defending champions the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic suffer a major meltdown against the Northern Mystics in Tauranga on Monday night.

The Vixens are likely to finish second or third, but Chatfield did not care what road Melbourne had to take to the ultimate prize.

"It doesn't bother me because I know we can beat all the other teams in the top four and it's a matter of us bringing what we brought today. That intensity, that effort, and carrying it through to the last quarter," she said.

The Vixens produced their most dominant display of the year on Sunday.

The hosts were never challenged in the match, dominating across all positions and increasing their lead at every break.

After two recent losses, it was a timely performance before finals.

"The last few weeks we have been finding the energy and effort that we have needed out there and I was really proud of the girls to do what they did today," Chatfield said.

"We needed it, so we have that belief going into the finals."

Thunderbirds near-flawless

The win over Queensland was a fitting completion to Adelaide's regular season, which ended with 12 wins and one loss.

The match was an arm wrestle for much of the first half, and proved to be a battle between the two sides' Jamaican talls - Thunderbirds goal shooter Carla Borrego and Firebirds goalie Romelda Aiken.

Borrego shot with 100 per cent accuracy in the first term, scoring all 12 attempts at goal and Aiken only missed one of her 14 attempts.

An intercept from Adelaide's goal defence Sharni Layton in Queensland's goal circle and a long pass to Borrego who scored on the buzzer, locked scores at 16-all at quarter time.

Firebirds' defensive pressure was at a high, and despite the hard running of captain Nat von Bertouch through the mid-court, the minor premiers found it difficult to break Queensland's tight hold.

The match relied on turnovers and the Thunderbirds were pressured into errors with their decision making and inaccurate passing, allowing the Firebirds to capitalise at the other end.

Despite trailing 41-39 at the final change the Thunderbirds showed the same composure they had all season and prevailed by two points.

Adelaide expects to face the Vixens in the 1 v 2 semi-final, with Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic needing to win Monday night's clash with Northern Mystics by 33 goals to leapfrog from fourth to second spot on the ladder.

The defensive pressure of the Firebirds forced many turnovers, but coach Roselee Jencke was left to lament missing out on finishing second and securing a double chance in the upcoming finals series.

The Firebirds will likely face the Magic in the other semi-final, the hosts determined by where the teams finish.

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